Fastening device



June 27, 1933. M. MAYER 1,915,610

FASTENING DEVICE Fild May 6, 1932 Ir Il A Mullimllllllllmlllll f/v VE/vTo@ War/7n Mayer;

/4 ToR/VEK k'Patented .lune 27, 1933 MARTIN MAYER, OF LOS ANGELES,CALFORNIA FASTENING DEVICE Application filed May 6, 1&32. Serial No.609,685.

' VMy invention relates to a novel device for securing two memberstogether, and finds particular utility in the wood-working art ywhere itis desired 'to secure two members 5 together which extend at rightangles relative to each other. It is in the wood-working art that willparticularly describe the invention without limiting-myself thereto.

` One conventional method of securing two '10 members together is by theuse of a dovetail joint. However,' the formation of such a jointrequires careful surfacing and accurate Ymeasurements. Specially lconstructed machines are necessary if such a lioint is to be formed bymachine operations.

' It is an important object of this invention to provide animproved'mode af attaching two members together by the use of a thirdmember detachably connected to one of the members.`

The invention finds particular utility when fused in aytongue-and-groove joint in which one member, hereinafter termed thegroovemember, provides a. groove including side walls and a bottoniwall, and in which the other 4member, hereinafter called a tonguemember,extends into this groove,` and it is another object ofthe invention toprovide a fastening Vdevice including a blade extending outward 'from'the tongue-member and into a` sidewall of "the'gr'oove so that thetongue-member may be slid sidewise into the groove andV so' thatthe-blade will form a de- 'pression inthe side wall of the groove as the35 longue-member is slid longitudinally along this groove. f v

' A further object of the-invention is to provide azfastening device ofthis type in which the blade is slightly angled so as to tend to,drawthe tongue-member farther into the groove as the tongue-membermoves therealong. l y

y V*This blade has a leading portion and a trailingportion and entendsoutward from a-body whichis in turn secured to the tonguemember. It' isa further object of the invention to provide such a blade the outer edgeof which extends' from the leading portion to the trailing portion, thisedge being angled with respect to the surface of the body erably so thatthe trailing portion penetrates into the side wall of the groove adistance greater than the leading portion.

Further objects of the invention reside in the configuration of the bodyand in the relationships between this body and .the attached blade,while still further objects of the invention liein the mode of securingthe body to the tongue-member as will be here- Y inafter described. i i

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be made evidenthereinafter.

Referring to the drawing in which several forms of the invention areillustrated;-`

Fig. l is an end view of the fastening de- C5 vice ofthe invention. i'

2 is a side viewof this fastening 'device. f Fig. is a perspective viewof ing device. s f

F ig. a is a sectional view illustrating a combination including thefastening ydevice shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3. l l

F ig. 5 illustrates another combination iny L the fastencluding suchfastening devices. l5

Figs. 6 and 7 are sectional viewsillustrat-A ing alternative forms ofthe invention. 1` Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate still another form of theinvention, Fig. 9 being taken on-the line LL-9 of Fig. 8 and showing thedevice in conjunction with the groove-member. i

Figs. 10, ll, and l2 illustrate another form of the. invention, Fig. l0being a sectional view of this form, andFigs. l1 and l2 beingcorresponding views ,of the device secured to a tongue-member, Fig. llbeing a top view and Fig. l2 being a side view taken as indicated by thearrow 12 of Fig. 11.

rfhe form of fastening device .14 illustrated in Figs. l, 2, and?)includes a flat body l5 with a blade 16 at the forward end thereof, thisblade being of such length as to extend across the body l5. Anysuitable' means may be utilized for securing the blade to the body, butin the preferred embodiment of the invention this blade. is formedintegrally with the body and is bent to extendforward from a front faceiff-thereof.n The blade 16 prefextends at substantiallyright angles tothe body l5, though this angle may be .slightly varied Withont departingfrom the sp1rit of the invention.

Insome instances it is possible to ,form the comprises a leading portion20, while I the less remotely positioned portion of the blade is termeda trailing portion 21.

Whether or. not the blade is angled as shown in Fig. 2, itis desirablethat the edge thereof, .indicated by the numeral 23, be sharpened andextend angularly'with respect to thefp'lane of the ace 17, as best shownin Figs. 1 and 3, this angle being indicated'by the letter Dl of 3.Inasmuch as the edge 23 connects the leading portion 20'and the trailingportion 21, it Willbeclear that the' trailing portion 21 extends forwardfrom the face 17 a distance greater than does the leading portion 20.'-y i l y This type of securing :device is relatively easy to manufactureand can be formed in a single operation bythe use of a suitable die. Inother instances it may be formed by a dual operation, the edge 23 being:sharpened before'the blade 16 is bent from the plane of 'the body 15.e.

VIn 'F.ig. 4 I have illustrated one type of, joint utilizingthis/fastening device. The groove-member is here indicated by. thenumeral`30, While the .tongue-member kis indicated, bythe numeral 31.The formerl member is'shown as comprisingy a table leg and provides agroove 32 opening on4 a Vside face of the groove-member and on the upperedge orend of this member and including a pair .portion 36 which,

of `Sie@ waas sa tongue-member 31 provides a tongue or edge in the formshown, 1s

formed by-utting a channel 37in the tonguemember-31`l ina conventionalV. manner ythus leaving a lshoulder which` can abut'against thesideziace of the groove-member.y The thickness of the-tongue 36 is suchthat it will rather snugly Elit vthe groove 32 and yet be slidablelongitudinallyinftliis groove. The body15 of thefastening device of theinvention is countersunkinto one face 3910i the tongue-member so thatthe face 17 is flush withrthe face y39, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. Thefastening device isy attached to the tongue-member `31 by any suitablemeans such as by screws 40 extending through .a fthe body 15 andsuitably countersunk toreceive the heads of they screws; 4.0.1" Itdevicey isf Secured in vsuch position that the blade 16 entendswoutward'from tlietongueposition, as best shown in farther into Y the groove Ymember is slid'longitudinally in this groove.

and abottomwall 34. The

Will be'clear that the relacio member 31, and that the device is securedin place prior to the time that this tongue-member is inserted intothegroove 32.

The tongue-member 31 and its attached fastening device is then movedsidewise into the groove 32 so that the tongue 36 moves longitudinallyalong the groove. When this is done the blade 16 is forced into one ofthe side Walls 33 and forms a longitudinal depressiontherein. If, as inthe preferred embodiment of the invention, the blade 16 is angled withrespect to a plane perpendicular to the axis .ii- A, the tongue-member31 should lbe inserted in such a direction that the leading portion 20of groove before the trailing portion 2l of this bladethis directionbeing indicated bythe arrow 22 of Fig. 2. The angledbladel will thustend. to force ythe tongue-member 31 32 as the tongue- This brings theshoulder formed bythe channel 37 intosnug engagement. with the side faceof the `groove-member 30 and makesa very solid and durable joint. i

y It will be understood that itis not lnecesf sray to form anypreliminary depression Vin the sidewall 33 to receive the blade 16, for

the blade itself performs .this function. Ex-A tensive tests have shown`that the? angled blade -16 after beingmoved through a portionofthegroove 32'does not leave a depression in the side Wall 33 which is aslarge `as the blade itself.'l The Vresilient nature of the woodlibersappears to allow the blade 16 to deorm these fibers as the'` blademoves .therethe blade 16 enters the past, after which the fibers tendtoy move into .l

their .former position: true in view of the angled nature of the bla foras 'the blade moves alongithe groove v32 thetibers are gentl forced toone side bycontact with the sur ace of the blade 16. The net resulty isthatA the blade-is firmly retained in position, and Withdrawal ofthetonguemember 31 ina direction opposite to thatin which it was insertedis greatly retarded. L

yIt thetongue-member 31 is to be removed This is especialliy IQS fromthe groove 32, this can be accomplished by removing the screws 40. andpulling the tongue-member 31 in a direction transverse with respect tothe groove. It should not be understood, however, that it is impossibleto Lwithdraw the tongue 36 longitudinally from the groove in a directionopposite to thatin which 1t was inserted. VThis can be accomplished byproper manipulation, and it will e found that the blade 16'Will usuallyfollow thelldepression previously formed in the side wa Y vIn Fig. 5 Ihave illustrated a slightly different type of tongue-andgroove'joint inwhich two of the fastening 'devices 14 are secured to the tongue-member31 for the purpose of holding the edge portion 36 in a groove formed inthe member 30, Vthese devices being same direction so that the leadingportion of eachblade enters. the groovefirst.

This requires that a right and left fastening device be utilized. Thisform of the invention particularly usefulin not only greatly increasingthe strength of the joint, but in i They head tion is shown in Figs.

maintaining the tongue-inember-31 exactly perpendicular tothegroove-member 30. This formk of'joint also differs from that shown inFig. liv-inasmuch as the forward end of the tongue 36 is in surfacecontact with the bottom wall V34 of the groove. y In Fig. 6 isillustrated a similar forni of the invention in which both of the bladesare formed onthe same body, this body being in the form off'a U-shapedbracket 50 fitting around the tongue-member 31 and extending across theinner end of the tongue 36. The blades preferably extend outward at asection near the bottoni wall 3e of the groove formed in thegroove-member The bracket is connected to the tongue-member 31 bysuitable means' such as screws 52. This bracket may be countersunk intothe tonguemember31, as shown, or may be secured directly to the externalsurface of the tonguemember 31. 'I

In Fig. 7 VI have illustrated still another form of the invention whichis not entirely countersunk, thisforin including a 'body 55 which isstepped so as to provide a Ahead portion 56l which is countersunk intothe tongue-member 31 and extends into the groove, 'this head portioncarrying a blade 57 such point of difference in this formof theinvention is that but avsingle screw 53 is utilized forholding the bodyagainst the tonguemember 31, the holding action of this screw beingassisted by a pin 60 formed on the body 55 which is forced into thetongue-member 31 when the lscrew 58 is tightened. Y

" Another very practical form of the inven- 8 and 9. In this form of theinvention the body isin the. form of a head portion 62which extends intothe groove and carries a blade 63 in a manner previously described. Atthe'rear end of this head .por-Y tion is a circular member 64; providingan openingthrough which ya screw 65 passes. portion' 62'and circularmember 64:

are preferably countersunk in the tonguemember 31, and in this form ofthe invention this countersinking is very .easily accomplished byV firstdrilling a shallow circular openingwith walls indicated bythe numeral 66of-Fig. 9. A conventional wood drill is used for this operation and thepoint thereof penetra-testhe tongue-nien ber 31l to form a as previouslydescribed. Another depression 68'shown in Fig. 9. A channel 69, bestshownin Fig. 8, is then cut to receive the head portion 62. Thefastening device is then inserted and the screw 65 will thread into thedepression 68 previously formed bythe point of the drill.

, Still another form of the invention is shown in Figs. 10, 11, and 12.Here severalblades TO are mounted on a body 71. These blades are formedas previously described and are preferably angled with respect to therear end or edge 7 2 of the body 71. This form of the invention differsin that substantially the whole of the body 71` is positioned in thegroove`32, being secured at spaced intervals to the tongue-member 3l byscrews 74 which extend throughcountersunk openings of the body T1.- Thisforni of the inventioninay or may not be countersunk into thetonguemember 31, as desired. In the form illustrated the body portion issecured directly to the outer surface of this tongue-member.

It will also be understood that when utilizing the form of the inventionshown in Figs. 10, 11, 12, it is not necessary to extendthe body portion71 completely across the face of the tongue-member31. Thus, a length ofthe body 71 and its attached blades can be cut into smaller sections,each section including one or more of the blades 70,

and these sections can be secured at intervals v across the face of thetongue-member. The tongue-member 31 and the fastening device can bemoved into the groove 32 in a direction indicated by the arrow 7 5 ofFig. 12.

WhileI have illustrated several embodi-H mentsof the invention certainmodifications thereof will-be apparent to those skilled in the art `andit should be understood that I ain not limited to the exact forms shown.The utility of the device will be readily apparent.y Thus, the novelfastening device of my invention can be utilized 'to' secure sidemembers to the legs of a piece of furniture,

as shown in Fig. 4. Another very important. 1

use ofthe invention is in assembling portable partitions, the fasteningdevice being secured to the partition and extending into a groove formedin an end member o'r connecting member. So also, the invention findsparticular utility in positioning shelves in van enclosing structure,the fastening device being secured to the shelf and extending into agroove formed in the end member.

y0roove-meniber; a tongue-member slidable b. l l l n u f sidewise intosaid groove and in aV direction along the length of said groove; and ablade Other uses of the invention will be apparent to those extendingoutward-from said tongue-meniber and longitudinally witlires'pectto saidgrooveito such length that said blade iskfo'rced into onerside wallof'saidgrooveand forms ai'longitud'inal depression therein yas saidtongue-member slides longitudinally along said dimension.4 of saidgroove.

combination: a groove-member providing a pair of side walls and-a bottomwall cooperating todefiiie a groove extending inward vi'ioni one face ofsaid groove-meniber; a tongue-member slidable sidewise into saidmgroove.and in a directionjalong-the length ofsaid groove; `a metallic body de#said groove andA in f tending alongA one surface 4o tachably connectedto saidy tongue-member and extendingrin said groove; and a blade on saidbodyyandextending `outward beyond a face ofsaid-body tol provide an edgeen` tending longitudinally. of said groove'and of suclilength as to be'forced'into one side wall of said groove to forniv a longitudinaldepression therein said 'tongue-member slideslongitudinally along saidkgroove, thereby preventing withdrawal of said tongue-member from saidgroove in a direction transverse to the longitudinal -diinension of saidgroove. l Y f1 3. In combination; la 'groove-member providing a paiiio'tsidewalls and a bott'oinwall Y cooperatingto define a groove extendinginward from one face of 'said groove-member and openingen an. edge ofsaid groovefnieniber; 'a tongue-ineinber slidablesidewise intoyagdirection 'along the length "of `said groove; ainetallicbodyexof saidtongueineinber from a point outside-said groove to a point-inside saidgroove; a bladeen said body at asection in said groove and providinganedge extending longitudinally of Y said groove, said bladeentendingfroni said metal4 lic body to'suclia distance that said'bladeis forced into'one sido Wall. of said'groove Y to forni a longitudinaldepression therein as said tonguelnieinber slides ylongitudinally along;said groove, thereby preventing withd-rawalrfloi p groove in a directionrtransverse"to the longitudinal dimension of said groove; vand` meanscooperating with that portion of said inetalliclbody which liesl outsidesaid groove for detacliably,coiuiectinor said metallic body to saidtonguesmeniber7 whereby detachment of said metallic body will permitwithdrawal of said tongue-ineniber .from said groovein a directiontransverse to the length of isaid groove. m f i 4. A combination 'asdened in claim` 2 in'l which ysaidfblade provides a leadingportion andva trailing blade is angledY slightlylwith respect to the direction 1 :inwhich said Vtongue-member is groove', thereby preventing withdrawal off"sa id tongue-member from said groove in ra direction; transverse toV thelongitudinal groove'. c 5. A combination and'l in Vwhich! said spect tothe surface ofsaid metallic body in .metallic body in such Vsaidtonguememberv vfromfsaid member.

, ing its edge portion yportion and in which saidl ywhereby movement ofsaid tongue-member longitudinally along said groove f tends to forcesaid tongue-member further "into Said v as defined. iniclaim 2inl'whichsaid bladevprovides a lea'dinglpob tion and a trailingfportion,and-gin- Which the outer*portion` of said blade provides anedge, edge.is 'angled with re-l such direction thatsaid leading portion Yeir-ytends outward va f shorter distancefrom said surface'of said metallicbody thandoes s aid trailing portion. y g

6. A combination isdefined ingiclaim 2in which saidbladeJprovides-a"leading portion and a trailing portion, and in. whichysaid blade is angled slightly ,with respectto-,the direction inwliiclifsaid tonguefmemben-is moved along said groove, saidleadingfportion beingdisposed closer to said bottom wall of said groovethan said trailing portion,' whereby movement of'said tongue-memberlongitudinally along said groove tends to force said tongue-memberfurtherintovsaid groove, and in which the router portion of l said bladeprovides an edge connecting-'said leading and .trailing portions, saidedge-being angled ,with respect Vto ,the surface of said directiomthatsaid leading portion extends outward azshorter distance from saidsurface of 'said metallic body than doessaid trailing portionf, A, 7, Acombination asdelined in claim 3in which said last-named meansincludesaj hole in said, portion of said metallic'- body lying outsidesaidgroove 'and a' screw extending lghrougl'i said hole and intosaidtongue-mein ein@ u' "f "'i'g.

8.' A combination as defined in ,claim 3,in which said portion ofsaidimetaljlic body lying outside said groove provides a circular por`tion l which isv larger` in diameter. thanlthe distancev acrosssaidimetallicbodyand in which said last-named means j comprises a hole sformed through said circular portion anda screw extending therethroughand into said tongue-member.l i. i i jj t 9. A combination as delinedzinclaim v2 in which said metallic bodyextends longitiidiy nally alongzsaidgroove andgincludingmeans lying inside said groove wheirsaid tongue?member-is advanced'` into Vsaidl groovefor holding saidmetallic bodytosaid @tongue-2 10. A fastening device fior anieinberhivi?`r intoaigroove in anotherinember, com-pris ing: a metal body' adapted'to beseuredto said edge portion of said first memlier and having a" bladeportion to 1. exteiidlat'iially from said edge portion'svoasfto engageaside slidable .longitudinally xii Wall of said groove as said edgeportion is moved longitudinally int-o said groove.

11. A device as defined in claim lO, in which said blade portion has aninclined face for engaging said side Wall of said groove Whereby themovement of saidinclined face in engagement with said side Wall of saidgroove will draw said edge portion toward the bottom of said groove.

12. A fastening device for aV member having its edge portion slidablelongitudinally into a groove in another member, comprising: a metal bodyadapted to be secured to said edge portion of said irst member andhaving a blade portion to extend laterally from said edge portion so asto penetrate a side Wall of said groove as Saidredge portion is movedlongitudinally into Said groove, said blade portion of said metal bodyb,eing` sharpened.

13. A fastening device for a member having its edge portion Slidablelongitudinally into a groove in another member, comprising: a'metal bodyadapted to be secured to 'said edge portion of Said irst member andhaving a blade portion to extend laterally from Said edge portion so asto penetrate a side Wall of said groove as Said edge portion is movedlongitudinally into said groove, said blade portion of said metal bodybeing sharpened and beingl inclined relative to its direction ofmovement in said groove to draw said edge portion toward the bottom ofthe groove as said edge portion is moved longitudinally therein.

ln testimony whereof7 l have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles,California. this 2nd day of May, 1932.

ll/ARTIN MAYER..

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